The "Learner-centered" learning environment examines students' prior knowledge and uses it to build a foundation for learning new objectives. It uses pre-assessment to determine prior knowledge and correct misconceptions. Then it builds on prior knowledge so that the students can better connect to new information. This environment pays special attention to the backgrounds of the class as a whole and each individual student.
At the start of the lesson, each student will be given an Anticipation Guide. The guide will have ~5 statements that the students will decide are true or false and will be asked to explain their choice. Some statements will contain common misconceptions that students have prior to learning a new concept. This can be used by the teacher to assess each student's background but it will also help activate the learner's prior knowledge. After the students have learned the new concept, the same anticipation guide can be given to the students so the teacher can check the progress of their learning.
What Does it Mean to be Learner-Centered?
The "Learner-centered" learning environment examines students' prior knowledge and uses it to build a foundation for learning new objectives. It uses pre-assessment to determine prior knowledge and correct misconceptions. Then it builds on prior knowledge so that the students can better connect to new information. This environment pays special attention to the backgrounds of the class as a whole and each individual student.
At the start of the lesson, each student will be given an Anticipation Guide. The guide will have ~5 statements that the students will decide are true or false and will be asked to explain their choice. Some statements will contain common misconceptions that students have prior to learning a new concept. This can be used by the teacher to assess each student's background but it will also help activate the learner's prior knowledge. After the students have learned the new concept, the same anticipation guide can be given to the students so the teacher can check the progress of their learning.